


Forever and a Day

by pentameter_and_pen



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Captain Charming - Freeform, Captain Cobra - Freeform, Captain Swan - Freeform, Davey Jones - Freeform, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-11
Updated: 2014-05-31
Packaged: 2018-01-24 09:17:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1599638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pentameter_and_pen/pseuds/pentameter_and_pen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Captain Swan. When Zelena takes away all Hook’s memories of Emma, the saviour is forced to confront just how much the pirate means to her. [Set during season 3b. AU. Eventual TLK] For resilient-tophat.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Part 1**

David finds her kneeling beside him, his good hand clutched in both of hers, her grip iron strong. She doesn’t notice her father, her eyes focusing only on the unconscious pirate in front of her. When David kneels across from her to check that Hook is breathing, she doesn’t notice. She’s still there, reliving that moment – the witch’s taunt (“It seems that true love can’t be stopped – or can it?”), the spell she cast (a cloud of glittering green dust), his decision to place himself in front of her (sword brandished at the ready) and the furious coughing that had resulted in his falling unconscious. If chivalry is dead it’s because the pirate practicing it might be.

Her first instinct is to be mad at him.

_How dare he suffer for something meant for her!_

Her next one is to feel upset.

 _How dare_ he  _suffer for something meant for_  her _!_

Then all that’s left is the shock.

 _How dare he_  suffer _for something meant_ for her _!_

That’s how her father finds her, having tracked her phone to this tiny cottage in the woods that smells not unlike fresh porridge. It’s hard to believe that just minutes ago Hook had been confused at her loudly exclaimed, “You’ve got to be kidding me!” and now he’s lying on the ground in front of her.

It’s only when David breathes a sigh of relief that she registers his presence in front of her. He gives her a gentle smile and a confirming nod. But that’s all she needs.

“I’m the  _saviour_ ,” she tells him, informing him of the only plan she has at the moment. That’s when she realises she’d been holding her breath this entire time. Looking down at his unconscious form she thinks she might never catch it again.   

When the ambulance comes, she insists on going with him. He’s never been one to leave her side – unless she asked. Now it’s her turn to return the favour. Her father nods understandingly as he makes his way to his truck, no doubt follow them back to the hospital. Emma is nothing but grateful. She’s a currently a ship without an anchor, and she needs her pirate back.

CSCSCSCSCS

“Whatever’s wrong with him, it’s not medical. He’s actually in perfect shape…” Doctor Whale confirms, having run a series of tests. “Well, except for his hand.”

She simply responds with a pointed stare, that slowly fades into a more dazed one. It’s the kind of joke  _he_ would have made. Her eyes quickly glance at the hook that lies on the nightstand behind her father who is stationed on the opposite side of the bed, arms crossed. Her hands have once again found their way to his.

“I’m sorry, that’s all I can do,” Whale says with an apologetic look. “It’s clearly magical.”

The second he exits David turns to Emma. “I told Regina to meet me here. Let me check where she is.”

She doesn’t answer as he leaves the room. Instead she squeezes Hook’s hand in the hopes of siphoning her own energy into him. Sadly he remains the same.  

A moment later there’s a knock at the door, followed by the clicking of heels. Emma looks up to find that it’s Belle.

The brunette makes her way towards her, a sad smile on her face and a book clutched in her hand.

“I brought him something to read in case they have to keep him here overnight,” she says, gesturing to the book in her hand. “It’s on the evolution of sailing technology… Thought that might appeal to him.”

“Thank you,” Emma says with a smile, grateful for her thoughtfulness. This is the sort of thing that would never occur to her. To think this far ahead is a sign of hope – the kind found in her parents, and Henry, and now, Belle.

She takes the book and places it on the nightstand closest to her, one hand still in his. It occurs to her, as she glances at the book’s cover that she has no idea what he would enjoy in terms of reading material. She makes a note to ask him when he wakes up. For a second – and just for a second – she hears a quiet voice whisper “ _Swan_ …”

She looks down expecting a groggy pirate with a pleased smile. Instead she finds that his condition hasn’t changed. She brings her other hand back to his and squeezes. She’d never needed a security blanket as a child. So she’s surprised to discover that she needs one as an adult – and Hook has been playing that role for weeks now.

When Whale had entered her restless eyes had unconsciously sought him out over her shoulder, only to be reminded that  _he_  was the one lying in bed.

David enters a few minutes later, followed by Regina.

“So what exactly happened?” She asks, taking her leather gloves off and flexing her fingers.

“She threw some kind of emerald at us,” Emma explains, leaving out her comment. “Hook tried to hit it away with his sword, but it turned into some kind of green dust and he just started coughing… until he passed out.”

Regina holds out her hands, attempting to sense the nature of the spell.

“Is it a sleeping curse?” David asks, breaking the silence.

“I’m not sure… I’m not familiar with this kind of magic… It’s from  _Oz_.” She spits out the last word, clearly not a fan of the Wicked Witch. But she considers his question anyway. “Though it could be. Sleeping curses may be  _my_  thing. But as we’ve seen, my big sister likes to take what isn’t hers.”

She puts her hands down a moment later. “I can’t tell you any more.  _Rumplestiltskin_  didn’t exactly feel the need to go over magic from other realms.”

“Then how do we wake him?” Emma asks, her brow furrowed as she slips into saviour trouble-shooter mode.

“You’re kidding right?” Regina asks, turning to her as she puts on her gloves. “How do any of you people break a curse? Kiss him!”

She says the last part as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. However judging by Emma’s expression it’s clear that that was the last thing on her mind. “K-kiss him?”

The mention of the act immediately takes her back to that night in Neverland – the way they’d locked lips, their foreheads pressed up against each other, her hands on his collar and his in her hair. She still remembers the way he tasted ever so faintly of coconuts and rum. It was much different from his attempt in New York. This time he’d initiated the action, hope shining bright in his eyes.    

Suddenly Emma’s blood runs cold, a panicked chill running up her spine. He’d meant it as a True Love’s Kiss. He hadn’t really said the words out loud, but there was no mistaking his intent. That could only mean one thing.  

“It won’t work,” she whispers, first looking at her father, then turning to Regina.

“What do you mean it won’t work?” Regina asks, incredulous that Emma might suggest otherwise. “Don’t you dare say you don’t love each other because we’ve all noticed all the searching glances and complete lack of personal space.”

Regina shakes her head. “You’re almost as bad as your parents.”

But Emma doesn’t register what Regina is saying. Her mind keeps replaying that memory – him pulling her lips closer, her initial surprise followed by her immediate reaction. She can still hear his anguished plea.

“ _I was hoping you felt as I did…_ ”   

Emma thinks she does… but that would mean she’s wrong. Otherwise she and Henry would have arrived in town a whole day sooner.

“It won’t work,” Emma insists. “Hook already tried, in New York.”

She lets the information settle over the room.

“Hook kissed you  _again_!” David exclaims, fatherly concern creeping into his voice.

Regina ignores him. “What do you mean it didn’t work?”

“It just didn’t,” Emma replies. “The curse, it didn’t break. Henry and I still didn’t remember.” 

The whole exchange had felt like a dream. Putting it into words makes it real. And somehow that makes it all the worse.

“We need to find another way.” Emma insists, her fear driving her to find some other cure. She can’t lose another person. That would break her.  _No,_ something inside her whispers, losing  _him_ would break her. “There has to be something we can do.”

“I’m going to go see if there’s anything in my books,” Belle says, speaking up.

Emma nods at her, and she turns to leave the room.

“I suppose I can see if there’s a potion I can whip up,” Regina says with a sigh, turning to leave also.

When she’s gone, David walks over to Emma’s side and gives her a side hug, squeezing her against his side. He gently places a kiss on her temple. A few minutes later, Emma leans on his shoulder.

“When I saw your mother lying in that coffin, I felt like I’d lost a piece of myself.” David explains softly. “I didn’t know what I would do next, without her next to me. All I knew is that it felt like I had lost something big.” 

But Emma isn’t focused on his words right now. Her mind is away, ransacking her memories for anything that might work. She wishes Henry had his memories, surely he would know what to do in this situation, fairy tale knowledge being his forte. Unfortunately that avenue isn’t available to her. 

She’s taken out of it when she feels David pulling away. 

"Mary Margaret called," he tells her apologetically. "I should check in with her. Let her know you’re alright."

Emma nods, giving him a small sad smile. David returns it with a smile and a nod of his own, turning to leave the room. 

However before he does, he turns back to her and says, “He’ll be fine.”

She finds his words a little hard to believe but she smiles at him anyway, before turning her head to the unconscious pirate. 

Sometimes her parents’ positivity is too much for her. She can’t have that same faith that everything will be alright. She can’t simply look on the bright side when things go wrong.

That’s when she catches sight of his hook and she snorts, a familiar line from one of her favourite movies growing up springing to mind. 

 _Think happy thoughts_.

Suddenly it doesn’t seem like a bad idea. According to Regina her magic is tied to her emotions. Perhaps happy thoughts will bring Hook back. Stranger things have happened since she found out she was the Saviour.  

Swallowing nervously she looks down at his hand, stroking it with her thumb, her fingers still entwined in his, his calluses pressed up against her own. 

She reaches for a memory of Henry, of the relief she’d felt when he’d woken up from the curse. That leads into one of her cooking him breakfast for the first time since she’d returned from the Enchanted Forest. From there it gets easier, one good memory leads to the next till eventually she finds herself mentally at the town line as Hook promises to never forget about her, her gut confirming that this is in no way a lie. 

She looks up at him. But he doesn’t open his eyes. She musters up one last mental push. 

 _Come back to me…_  

She lets go of the energy she’d built up within her. But it doesn’t seem to have a reaction on him. He just lies there. 

Emma shakes her head. This was a silly idea. Why did she think it would work? 

Because that is something  _he_  would try. Were their roles reversed, she knows he would never give up. He would go through every option. After all, isn’t that what he did trying to convince her in New York?

She smiles as she remembers his exclamation regarding bologna. But it fades when she thinks of her son. If Henry had his memories back and he knew what was happening he would call Hook a hero – because that is the definition of what he’s become. All because he had a tiny shred of hope… 

 _Good_.

That just means she’s going to have to be hopeful for the both of them. So she delves back into her memories, in search of other fond moments from her life, using them as a beacon for him to follow back. And just like that she’s atop that beanstalk, his words still ringing in her ears.  

 _Bloody brilliant Swan._   

CSCSCSCSCS 

A few moments later Emma senses movement on the bed. She opens her eyes and looks up to find a very groggy pirate and a wave of relief sweeps through her.

"You’re up," she tells him, unable to hide the smile on her face. She’s been perched in a chair by his bed for what seems like hours now, thinking happy thoughts in an effort to wake him up.

But as happy as she is to see him up, her gut begins to churn, telling her that something isn’t right. When he says nothing she feels like there’s a shoe hovering above her head threatening to drop any minute. She tries to file it away as his still being disoriented from waking up, but the longer he stays silent the more worried she becomes.

However a second later he flashes her a big grin, murmuring a playful “Hello Beautiful…”

Until then Emma wasn’t sure you could feel relief and concern at the same time. But now she’s flooded with both. He’s back. Like always, he found her.

Except her gut doesn’t believe it. Now it’s churning more than ever and the shoe’s inching closer towards her.

“Zelena really did a number on you,” she informs him, not ready to unpack her reaction to his condition.

Before he can respond David enters the room.

“Hook!” he exclaims, giving them a pleased grin. “So it worked!”

Emma’s eyes widen as she realises what David’s referring to. But as she shakes her head at him to keep quiet, he says, “So it’s True Love.”

He notices her a split second later and he drops his smile.

“What are you talking about mate?” Hook asks him. “Did I get Zelena?”

“No she escaped before Emma could stop her,” David tells him.

Hook gives him a curious look, his brow furrowing in puzzlement. “Who’s Emma?” 

And just like that, the shoe drops.

CSCSCSCSCS


	2. Part 2

**Part 2**

_Who’s Emma?_

The second the words leave his mouth Emma knows that his confusion is true, the confirmation punching her in the gut.

“What do you mean ‘Who’s Emma’?” David asks, clearly not amused.

"I can assure you I’m not.” Hook replies, clearly not playing around. “Who’s Emma?”

Despite her every instinct saying it’s not worth the pain she finds herself answering, “Me. I’m Emma.” 

Hook turns his attention back to her, but not without an appraising glance. She isn’t sure whether to be annoyed or relieved. At least some things don’t change when it comes to this man.

“I was hoping that was you,” he says, smiling flirtatiously. “A beautiful name for a beautiful face…”

If it were any other situation she would have shaken her head at him. Instead she gives him a sad smile, a pool of guilt beginning to form in her stomach.

“How do you know David?” she asks, hoping to figure out the extent of his memory loss. It’s clear that he at least recognises her father.

Hook shrugs. “In the Enchanted Forest. I helped retrieve a compass that brought his wife back here.”

They lock eyes for a second and she wonders what became of the beanstalk, of her chaining him up only for him to later reveal that he would never have done the same.

“Of course I also saved his life in Neverland,” He adds, turning to look at David. 

Emma nods, waiting for him to continue, with bated breath.

To some extent she knows he’d done it all for her. But she prefers to think of it as his becoming a better man – the man she’d discovered when he’d gently wrapped her injured hand on that beanstalk. Pirates aren’t usually preoccupied with thoughts of love and loss… Unless they themselves have suffered a loss that great. And she knows he has, because lost children always recognize one another. And that was exactly what he was when they met, a lost boy – an angry one at that.

He then turns to Emma and says, “You’d think he’d learn to trust a man after that.”  

“Besides, I helped get Baelfire’s boy back,” he says, looking away from both of them. By the expression on his face Emma can tell he remembers Neal’s death. “I may have failed him when he was in my care, but I would never let anything happen to Henry. I owe his father that.”  

She breathes a sigh of relief. At least he remembers Henry. The last thing she wants to do was take Hook out of his life. Her son has already lost a father. He doesn’t need to lose Killian as well.

When Hook’s eyes come back to her she thinks she sees a glimpse of a memory in them. After all, even with Regina’s new memories, her saviour magic had found a way to seal that kiss with her so she’d never lose the ray of hope he’d sparked.  

“I’m Henry’s mother,” she tells him. But that information triggers nothing within him.

"Emma Swan," she adds a second later, a part of her needing him to know her last name, a bigger part hoping that might be what brings his memories flooding back.

She is disappointed.

"Swan…" He repeats, rolling the word in his mouth and playing with it. "Pleasure to meet you. Killian Jones. Or if you prefer, my more colourful moniker, ‘Hook’."

She feels a familiar shiver go down her spine – just like the first time he’d said that.

“Nice to meet you…  _Hook_ ,” she says, turning to leave. “I better go let Henry know you’re okay. Feel better.”

She gives David a quick glance before she quickly exits the room, unable to stay there much longer.

Emma Swan has encountered many forms of loss in her life. But looking back at Hook in that hospital bed she knows that this is possibly the worst.

CSCSCSCSCS

Just as she predicts, David follows her out into the hallway, almost a step behind her. She spins around to face him, knowing she can’t escape this conversation.

“Why did you lie to him?” he asks, clearly confused by her choice.

“I didn’t lie to him,” she argues. “I just didn’t tell him the whole truth.”

“Emma he deserves to know,” David replies.

She sighs and looks him in the eye as she explains. “The less he knows the easier it will be to keep him safe. He can’t try and protect me if he doesn’t know who I am.”

He studies her for a moment before he says, “I don’t think that’s going to work.”

“You said look for the good moments,” she tells him.

“Emma…” he sighs.

“Don’t  _Emma_  me. This is a good moment,” she argues. “If anything happens to him, I can’t just ki-“

Catching her father’s eye she says, “I won’t be able to save his life.”    

David studies her for a moment before he concedes. “It’s your decision, but I don’t think you’re doing the right thing here.”

“That doesn’t matter if it means he doesn’t get hurt,” Emma tells him before walking off.

She’s surprised when he let’s her go that easily, she’d expected her father to put up a bigger fight. But then she wonders if he’d noticed what she had, that Zelena had found a way to steal her courage too.

CSCSCSCSCS

Henry’s dressed and ready for bed by the time she gets back to their room.

"Hey mom," he greets her without looking up from his handheld video game device.

"Hey kid," she replies, taking off her coat near the door. "How was spending the day with Granny?"

"Good," he shrugs. “But she kind of stares at me sometimes. So does Ruby.”

“Well that’s only because they haven’t seen you since you were a baby,” Emma tells him.

Henry nods and focuses on his game again.   

She watches him for a moment, savouring the normalcy, before walking over and taking a seat beside him. “Listen Henry, we need to talk.”

He puts down his device and looks at her. He looks concerned as he sits up. “What is it mom?”

She turns to himand offers him a sad smile. “It’s Killian…”

She isn’t prepared to see his face go ashen quite that quickly, concern shining in his eyes.

“What’s wrong with Killian?” he demands.

“He got injured on the job today,” she tells him, glad its not worse news. Though with Neal’s death, she can understand why her son is wary of bad news. “So you might not be able to see him for a couple of days, until he rests it out.”

 _Or until I defeat the Zelena and get Hook his memory back_.

The look of relief on Henry’s face almost breaks her heart. She’s noticed how much fun he has with the man and the last thing she’d wanted to do is take away the one thing he’s really enjoyed about being in Storybrooke. 

“What happened to him?” Henry asks.

“He hurt his head, so he’s currently having some memory problems,” Emma explains, trying to tell him as much of the truth as possible.

“Like amnesia?” He frowns at the idea.

She reaches out and rubs his shoulder. “Sort of. But don’t worry. He remembers you. He’s just having a bit of a problem remembering some other people.”

He nods, assuaged by this new information. “That’s good. As long as he doesn’t forget you, we’re fine.”

“What do you mean?” She asks him, half terrified his memories are coming back.

“You really care about him. And he pretty much loves you…” Henry tells her like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “I’ve seen the way you look at him. You definitely like him more than you ever liked Walsh. And you were dating him for months.”

Even though she can’t breathe is able to say, “Alright, go to bed now. You need to wake up early. You’re spending the day with Belle tomorrow.”

He grins as he slides under the covers. “Don’t worry mom, I like him a lot.”

Emma smiles sadly as she leans down to kiss him goodnight.

_I know._

She does not sleep well that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I’m really glad I turned this fic into a multi-chapter thing, because I can take my time and actually explore characters I wouldn’t have gotten to in a one-shot, also it allows the story to breathe. I was a bit nervous with this chapter because one of the things that I’m trying to explore is the effect of Emma in Hook’s life, while still keeping everyone else in his memories and how that might have affected him. I think part of is setting Henry as his second chance. He’s trying to get right with him what he didn’t do well with Baelfire. Hopefully I’m doing something right. My next update should be Thursday.
> 
> If you have any thoughts, comments, questions or concerns please let me know! If you enjoyed this, please check out my other stuff on tumblr, ff.net and AO3. Thanks for reading!


	3. Part 3

**Part 3**

With Hook no longer a babysitting option Emma walks Henry over to the Storybrooke library so that Belle can keep an eye on him. To his credit Henry takes the whole thing in stride, even though he isn’t as avid a reader as he was before this new set of memories. But then again he’s always been an easy-going kid. Overcome with a surge of affection for him Emma reaches out and ruffles his hair. Henry shoots her a questioning look as he gives her a reluctant “ _Mooom_.” But he doesn’t pull away from her.

Emma basks in the realness of this moment.

A minute later they’re at the library and the door is open and unlocked – as discussed with Belle on the phone. So they simply enter, walking deeper into the spaces as they go in search of the brunette librarian. What they find instead is a leather-clad pirate casually flipping through a book. He turns when he hears them approach.

“Killian!” Henry exclaims, beaming at the older man. “I thought you were hurt.”

He turns back to Emma as he says the last part. Hook shoots her a look too.

"Aye I was, but I’m much better now," Hook replies, his eyes focused on Emma. "Thanks to your mother. David tells me she got me to the hospital just in time."

He stares at Emma for a beat longer before turning to look down at Henry. She smiles, glad to see him up and walking around. Then the relief gives way to concern.  

“And the hospital just let you go?” she asks him, frowning as she studies him closely.

“What can I say?” He says with a shrug. “I can be quite  _persuasive_.

There’s a glint in his eyes and undertone to his words and she doesn’t know if he’s got his memories back or if he’s just being Hook. But then it passes, as he focuses all his attention on Henry, asking “What are you up to today lad?”

Before Henry can answer, Belle enters, a stack of books in her arms. “Well, I think I found something that you might quite like-“

She’s startled when she sees Emma and Henry, but that quickly passes and she greets them with a smile. “You’re here! I was just helping Killian find another book to read.”

Emma smiles and nods at her as she remembers Belle’s gift at the hospital. What she hadn’t expected was Hook’s affinity for reading. She watches as he moves his hand so Belle can set the books in her hand down on the table.

"I didn’t know you liked to read," Henry exclaims, voicing her thoughts as he walks over to look at what Belle’s picked out for the older man.

When he does Belle takes the opportunity to walk over to Emma and update her on her research. “I haven’t found anything yet. But there’s still many books I haven’t checked back at Rumple’s shop.”

Emma doesn’t say anything. She just smiles understandingly nods as she watches the pirate and her son interact. The young boy animatedly explaining something to the older man.

Belle turns to look at Henry and Killian as well. “He hasn’t gone back to trying to kill me, if you’re worried about that.”

Emma looks at Belle. Embarrassingly the thought hadn’t crossed her mind at all. She’d been concerned with defeating the witch, as well as keeping Henry – and now Hook – safe.

“He seems fine with everyone else,” she tells the kind-hearted librarian. “I’m the only one he’s forgotten.”

Belle gives her a sympathetic look. “Don’t worry. Sooner or later we all remember. Your heart never truly forgets.”

Emma gives her a sad smile and turns to look at her son and the pirate. Hook is telling Henry a story that has him absolutely enraptured.

“Thanks…” she tells Belle, grateful for her company. “And thanks for looking after Henry.”

“Well, he is my grandson,” Belle replies with a smile.

Emma gives her a surprised smile as she agrees, “Yeah… I guess he is.”

Just then her phone buzzes and she looks at the time before she looks up at Belle. “Alright. I need to go.”

She takes a deep breath before she walks over to her son and the pirate, slightly nervous to bid both of them goodbye.

“…all your books. It’s actually really cool,” Henry’s explaining to a clearly confused Hook (nevertheless still nodding politely) when she interrupts the conversation, placing her hand on the boy’s shoulder as she stands beside him.

“I gotta go kid,” she tells him, giving him a sad smile. “Just be good and do what Belle tells you, okay?”

Henry nods. “I will. Take care mom.”

“I always do,” she replies automatically, filled in by the remnants of her other set of memories – one in which Henry’s heard this response for almost ten years.

Needing her goodbye to be real, she squeezes his shoulder and adds, “Love you…”

Henry gives her a curious look before telling her, “I love you too.”

She nods and turns to leave, but is blocked by Hook a few seconds later as he steps into her path. 

“Shame you’re leaving  _Love_ ,” he says, stopping her dead in her tracks. He reaches out to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear with his good hand. As he does, his fingertips graze against her ear and she feels an involuntary shiver run through her as he looks into her eyes and says, “Perhaps I could lend you a hand…”

At his words she immediately looks up into his eyes, a small part of her wanting to accept his offer. He’s been by her side since she’s gotten back, a constant given. But what she sees instead is a man beholding her for the first time, proof that while there are traces of him in there, he’s still not completely her pirate – just another person she’s lost to magic.

And suddenly her mind is filled with the image of him just lying in that hospital bed and she’s flooded with feelings of helplessness. As a result, she replies (somewhat brusquely), her eyes flashing down to his wooden hand, “Like you have any to spare.”

She pushes past him before he can reply – or worse, insist he’s coming along – swallowing nervously as she senses him watching her leave. When she reaches the door Emma almost wants to bask in it for a second, because there won’t be anyone watching her back where she’s going.

CSCSCSCSCS

She pulls up around roughly the same area they’d been in yesterday, before it all began. As she steps out of the Beetle Emma can’t help but notice how quiet the woods are when you’re by yourself and once again that empty space behind her aches, a void that can’t really be filled.

But she pushes all thoughts of him out of her head. That’s not why she’s here – well maybe it’s a little bit of why she’s here.

The cottage Zelena had conjured up, while a trap, had still felt true, like there was a real kernel of truth deep inside what it was. Emma’s sure it holds the key to defeating her. She simply needs to find it again. So she follows her gut and walks towards what feels familiar.

But after an hour of walking, she ends up not at some quaint cottage in the woods, but at a red berry bush with a branch half cracked and barely hanging on and a patch of crushed berries on the ground, and without a doubt she knows where she is.

_If it can be broken, it means it still works._

And just like that she’s angry – at him, at Zelena, at everything. She was supposed to be done with this. She’d had her happy ending. And as much as he’d pointed out that New York was all a lie, it was a lie where things like this didn’t happen. Her son wasn’t at risk for simply existing. Her parents didn’t keep getting separated and taken away from her only to be reunited after an extended period of time. And pirates who promise to win her heart and think of her every day don’t get their memories ripped away in the process of defending her.

If bologna is the worst New York has to offer then so be it. Because what’s the point of being the saviour if she can’t save herself from all this pain.

Fuelled by anger she storms back into the woods, attempting to get back to where she’d first spotted that god-forsaken little house. But after a half an hour of stomping around she’s nowhere close to finding the Wicked Witch’s hideout. She kicks at the ground in frustration. It feels like she’s been walking in circles – not unlike how Pan had strung them along in Neverland.

But that had required accepting that she was an orphan. What could a witch like Zelena possibly want from her?

 _Nothing_.

That’s when it hits her. She just needs to beat Zelena at her own game – which means she just has to get better at using magic so she can eventually face the witch herself. 

A moment of doubt flutters through her mind. Learning magic and using it in a fight are two completely different things. But she quickly waves that thought aside. She doesn’t have time for doubt right now. There are two lives counting on her.        

_I have yet to see you fail._

She’s almost glad he doesn’t have his memories back. This makes it one less person to let down if her plan doesn’t work. 

CSCSCSCSCS

It turns out a plan is only a plan if it can be enacted. And so far this one is not going well at all.

“ _Focus_.” Regina chides. “You just need to light the candle.”

But even though Emma’s brow furrows harder as she stares at the candle tip all the way across the room, the wick does not light. 

“You can do it Emma,” Mary Margaret calls out encouragingly from her rocking chair in the corner. 

It doesn’t help.

She closes her eyes, reaching for the ability she knows is there. She’s been on fire lately (figuratively of course) and her powers have been growing with every passing day. Only to come to an abrupt halt in today’s lesson where she can’t even practice any of the basics she’d mastered a week ago. The whole point of this session was for her to learn finer, more delicate magic, because as Regina pointed out, Emma’s all brute force and she can’t just rely on her gut and natural aptitude like she has been so far.  

Except right now she can’t even seem to do that.

She opens her eyes and sees that the candle remains unlit, like it has for the past fifteen minutes. Each time she’s tried, her magic has slipped out of her grasp and just out of reach, and there’s something that’s not allowing her to get to it. It’s like the woods all over again.

"I can’t do it." Emma exclaims in frustration, still staring at the candle. "I’m trying, but it’s not working."

"Well stop thinking about your boyfriend and try harder." Regina demands sternly. "This should be a piece of cake for someone with your abilities."

"Hook’s not my boyfriend!" Emma argues stubbornly, turning towards Regina. Almost instantly she feels a surge of power and the magazines on the coffee table in front of the former evil queen catch fire.

"What the hell do you think you’re doing?!" Regina exclaims, waving her hand and extinguishing the flames before any real harm is done.

"I’m sorry!" Emma responds, just as surprised. "I didn’t mean to. It just happened."

"Well don’t let it happen again!" Regina snaps. Seeing Emma’s expression she softens her tone. "You can’t just wave all this power around like that. You could have burned this building down. You need to be more careful."

She studies Emma for a second. “And maybe find an anchor.”

"An anchor?" Emma asks.

"It’s something or  _someone_  that helps ground your magic,” Regina tells her. She looks away slightly ashamed. “For me it was the anger I felt towards your mother.”

Emma quickly glances at Mary Margaret before looking back at Regina. Her mother is frowning, clearly recollecting the Evil Queen’s ruthless hunt for her. To her credit at least Regina looks remorseful.

“Let me try again,” Emma says, turning back towards the candle.

But Regina stops her.  “Now might be a good time to stop for lunch. Maybe the break will help you work through whatever you’re going through.”

“I’m not going through anything!” Emma protests, looking from Regina to Mary Margaret, who’s walking over to join them. But neither woman looks convinced.

“You say that, but I doubt that even you believe it.” Regina says, rolling her eyes as she puts on her coat. 

Emma looks away, sighing in frustration as her gut churns. Either Regina’s right or she’s angry. She decides it’s the latter.

“How about Granny’s?” Mary Margaret asks, trying to diffuse the situation.

“Fine with me,” Regina answers as she walks out the door.

Mary Margaret follows, but before she leaves she turns to check on Emma, who’s still putting on her coat. Sensing her gaze, Emma looks up and smiles reassuringly as she tells her, “Head on without me, I’ll catch up.”

Her mother nods, giving her an encouraging smile before she too walks out the door.

Once her mother’s gone Emma quickly turns back towards the candle, attempting to light it once more. Yet again, nothing happens.

She sighs in disappointment, looking around the loft as she tries to plan her next step if this doesn’t work. She doesn’t have one – well, except for finding an anchor. However she shakes her head at the thought. How is she supposed to find an anchor when she’s never felt more adrift? 

CSCSCSCSCS

The first thing she sees when she enters the diner is Hook and Henry sitting at opposite booths – as if fate wasn’t cruel enough. Nonetheless she heads on over, a little awkwardness is completely bearable in the name of Henry’s overall happiness.

As she nears, Henry spots her and grins. His sudden lack of attention sees Hook follow his gaze and look up at her too. The second he lays eyes on her his expression becomes flirtatious. Emma fights the urge to roll her eyes at him. Instead she simply widens her smile to include both her son and the pirate.

“How’s it going kid?” She asks, hovering at their table, still unsure if she’ll be joining them for lunch.

"Great! We hung out at the library and helped Belle," Henry responds, clearly having had a good time. "Can you believe Killian doesn’t know what a Kindle is?"

Emma looks at Hook, an amused smile tugging at her lips. But all she says is “Oh really?”

Hook shrugs in response, not taking his eyes off her.

Feeling her cheeks begin to warm up, Emma refocuses her attention towards her son. “What do you and Killian have planned for the afternoon?”

She includes Hook seeing as her son won’t be leaving his company willingly any time soon.

"Oh nothing. I’m just skyping Avery," Henry tells her. "Speaking of which, I need to go talk to him now."

Emma nods in surprise as he slides out of the booth and stands next to her. He then leans forward and places a pair of dice on the table. “Thanks for teaching me Killian.”

"It was my pleasure," Hook tells him, smiling at him fondly. "All you need now is a little-"

"Practice," Henry finishes Hook’s sentence and gives him a conspiratorial grin.

"Aye," Hook agrees barking out a laugh. "Go on then lad."

Henry nods before turning to his mother. “Bye mom. See you later!”

"Bye Henry…" Emma responds, watching her son turn and head towards the bed half of this B&B.

She then turns towards Hook, unsure what to say to him now that her son is gone.

"Have a seat lass," he says, sensing her awkwardness. "I promise I don’t bite… unless asked."

He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively and this time she does roll her eyes at him. Nonetheless she still finds herself sliding into the booth across from him.

“Really? You’re teaching him how to cheat at dice?” she asks, focusing on the pair of dice sitting between them. “Isn’t that ‘bad form’.”

He gives her an odd look and she realises her mistake.

“I’m not teaching the lad how to cheat,” Hook argues. “I’m teaching him to win.”

“Yeah, well I’m not sure I want him learning how to ‘win’ this way.” Emma tells him firmly.

Hook studies her face for a moment. “Perhaps you haven’t had the right teacher…”

"And you’re the one to teach me?" She asks, slipping into their old back and forth.

"Well I am a pirate," he tells her with a sly grin.

"Exactly." She replies harshly, moving to exit the booth. She can’t do this again. She knows where this ends – him lying unconscious in her arms.

"Aaah. The ‘pirate’ thing again…” he tells her, brushing off her comment. “Listen lass, I may be a pirate. But it’s not who I am."

"Oh yeah? Then who are you?" She asks, more for herself than him – even without all his memories he knows who he is as a person. She has everything intact and she still doesn’t. The image of the unlit candle pops into her brain.

He smiles at her before he responds. “I’m the same as you,  _Love_.”

“You don’t know me.” Emma tells him, her tone measured. Seeing how easy it is for him to press her buttons it’s almost easy to forget he doesn’t remember who she is.

“Oh but I do,” he answers, rolling the dice around in his hand. “You’re an open book, Swan.”

She feels a shiver run through her at his words. But she stays calm.

“Your first love abandoned you, leaving you with his child,” he tells her matter-of-factly.

Emma remains stony-faced. “That’s easy. Henry told you that.“

He accepts this as a challenge. “After that you turned to a nomadic life, going in pursuit if treasure or other people – just so you don’t need to focus on lowering your own walls.”

She swallows nervously as she asks, “And what would you know about that?”

He studies her face for a moment before answering, “I spent three hundred years looking to avenge the woman I loved. What’s worse is I was so blinded by my own pain I abandoned her boy… And built up some walls of my own.”

He pauses before he quietly adds, “But the thing about walls, Love, is that they can always be climbed.”

Emma feels her cheeks heat up and her mouth go dry. “I need to go find someone.”

She begins to slide out of the booth when Hook says “I’d wish you luck… If I weren’t so certain you’d find them.”

That stops her. She turns back and looks at him, still seated in the booth. “You think so?”

He looks into her eyes as he says, “Of course. People like us? We know how to  _win_.”

She looks down to see him place a pair of dice in her hand. But she doesn’t return them or pull away. Instead she just purses her lips and nods at him before going to join Mary Margaret and David at their table.

As she walks over she slips the pair of dice into her pocket, noting how much heavier they feel.

CSCSCSCSCS

“Alright,” Regina begins as soon as they re-enter the apartment. “It’s the same as last time. Just light the candle.”

"Just light the candle," Emma whispers under breath as she walks to the same spot she’d stood before. She shakes her hands to kind of loosen up and help her relax. All she has to do is look inward and find the spark that allows her to light set the candle alight.

But the moment she closes her eyes she feels nothing, everything about her still tense and stressed. Her magic has come to her before, but it’s always been best when she’s been relaxed – something she doesn’t have time for any more.

Luckily Regina doesn’t say anything, giving her the space to try and ease into this. But the silence only makes her more aware of herself and how much they’re counting on her for this to work. How much  _she_ ’s counting on this to work. 

She feels her power flare a little, but not enough. Awkward and unsure what to do with her hands she jams them in her pockets hoping to at least keep them still.

That’s when her hand brushes against the dice Hook had handed her, her finger rubbing against a pair of indents on the side – the number two.

 _You and I make quite the team_.

She hears his voice in her head before she can even give it a second thought, but as she moves to pull her hand out of her pocket she brushes against them again.

 _If I weren’t so certain you’d find them_.

The confidence in his voice stops her and she hones in on it. How can he always be so sure about her? How can he not have any doubts? 

 _People like us? We know how to win_.    

This time she sees him standing in the jungles of Neverland promising to win her heart as he looks at her with a quiet but firm belief. She’d known then that it wasn’t a lie, but simply a matter of time.

A second later Mary Margaret gasps. Emma immediately opens her eyes to check on her mother. But when she does she just sees her standing there, looking awestruck.

When she follows her line of vision she finds that every candle in the room has now been lit – including the little tea lights in the bathroom.

She turns to Regina who simply says, “We’re going to need a bigger candle.”

Emma grins, feeling good for the first time in a very long time. She’d forgotten what winning felt like.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Apologies all around. This update was meant to go up weeks ago. But as I’ve mentioned a dozen times, I just started a new job with a ton more responsibilities so I’m always exhausted when I get home and in no mood to write. Hopefully this chapter turned out okay. The thing I really wanted was for Emma to realise how much Hook means to her in this chapter. Next chapter is about her accepting it.
> 
> Thanks for all your lovely messages and comments about updating. I’ll do my best to deliver another chapter as soon as possible. 
> 
> If you have any thoughts, comments, questions or concerns, please let me know! If you enjoyed this please check out my other stuff on tumblr, ff.net and AO3. Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This was initially meant to be a one-shot for the lovely and very patient resilient-tophat, but I couldn’t stop writing. Then last week’s episode happened and I wanted to work some of those things into this. For the most part I’m really glad my reactions were spot on.
> 
> I made Belle and Henry a bigger part of the story mostly because I’ve wanted to see more of them this season, but also because I wanted to see Emma interact with Belle a little more. But yeah, Part 2 should be out Tuesday. (Once I’ve recovered from the finale obviously).
> 
> Till then, if you have any thoughts, comments, questions or concerns, please let me know! If you like this fic, go ahead and check out my other stuff on tumblr, ff.net and AO3!


End file.
